Spectrum gets crunched

Iâ''m spending today and tomorrow at TechCrunch40, a start-up showcase in San Francisco. Had a bit of a hassle earlier this month getting registered; the TechCrunch folks put out a call for "real" press persons or bloggers, real people who have a track record and are on assignment, people who cover technology on an ongoing basis (i.e. not someone who has started a blog to cover the event). Seems Spectrumâ''s 380,000 or so print readers, web site that gets half a million hits monthly, and my 20-plus years covering technology somehow didnâ''t count. I felt like Pinocchio when the blue fairy told him he wasnâ''t ready to become a real boy. I mean, what did I have to do here, get swallowed by a whale?

Well, eventually my registration request (along with a link to an article I wrote back in the early 80s on a relatively new technologyâ''the home video gameâ''built by a little company called Atari) made its way to the right person, who waved his wand and made me real.

So Iâ''m real, Iâ''m here, and Iâ''m hoping to be blown away by at least one or two truly new tech ideas. (Being real, Iâ''m also a realist, out of 40 companies on stage and 100 more in the so-called Demo Pit, I figure most will be showcasing small tweaks of established technologies. If one or two truly new ideas emerge, Iâ''ll be happy.)

Comments

IEEE Spectrum’s general technology blog, featuring news, analysis, and opinions about engineering, consumer electronics, and technology and society, from the editorial staff and freelance contributors.